Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) stood by previous comments praising Hungarian President Viktor Orbán for a regulatory crackdown on the country’s universities, saying Sunday that the U.S. should embrace a similar mindset.
Orbán, as part of anti-democratic reforms that included changes to the country’s judiciary and constitution, changed how higher education is regulated in recent years, giving the government more control over what is taught.
“What you’re seeing in the United States, actually, is that universities are controlled by left-wing foundations. They’re not controlled by the American taxpayer,” Vance said in a CBS “Face the Nation” interview with Margaret Brennan on Sunday.
Brennan pressed Vance on his support, directly questioning Vance if he wants the federal government to have direct control over education, like in Hungary.
“What I’m advocating for is for taxpayers to have a say in how their money is spent. Universities are part of a social contract in this country,” Vance said. “They educate our children. They produce important intellectual property. They get a lot of money because of it.”
“But if they’re not educating our children well, and they’re layering the next generation down in mountains of student debt, then they’re not meeting their end of the bargain,” he continued. “I think it’s totally reasonable to say there needs to be a political solution to that problem.”
The senator also distanced himself from some of Orbán’s anti-democratic reforms. The Hungarian leader is a rising star in American conservative politics, a frequent guest at the Conservative Political Action Conference and an ally of former President Trump.
“Well, look. I’m not endorsing every single thing that Viktor Orbán has ever done. I don’t know everything he’s ever done,” Vance said. “What I do think is on the university — on the university principle, the idea that taxpayers should have some influence in how their money is spent at these universities. It’s a totally reasonable thing. And I do think that he’s made some smart decisions there that we could learn from in the United States.”
Vance, considered a finalist to be Trump’s potential running mate, has increased his profile in recent months. Last week, he stepped back prior criticism of the former president and has become one of his closest allies in the Senate.